One of the reasons we ask so many questions (sometimes 60 or more) when we first meet a client is to try to understand the person, not just the numbers. You can learn a lot about a person’s decision making when you understand where they came from. It’s our walk of life that influences how we look at the world. I find this especially true when it comes to planning for...
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"The future has a way of arriving unannounced.” – George Will One of Foster Group’s core principles is that while we remain long-term optimists regarding stock market returns, our short-term view is more “agnostic”, meaning that we don’t believe there is credible evidence that anyone can know with any certainty whether the coming 12 months will be positive or negative ones for investors. However, that does not mean that our experience as...
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Write three hundred words on taxes; that’s what they told me. Just to be clear, according to Taxfoundation.org, the tax code is almost 4 million words. To put that in perspective, the Bible has approximately 750,000 words. Further, between the years of 2001 and 2012, the code changed 4,680 times. Let me boil 300 words down to three letters: C.P.A. As a CPA myself, and having worked with some of the...
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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have grown tremendously in the last 10 years. The basic use is to set aside money for qualified medical expenses in a separate savings account, and then use the funds as needed. You can read all about HSAs here. What I want to touch on is some of the major benefits and some strategies for people who are concerned about future healthcare costs. ...
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For an excellent read from renowned investment guru Larry Swedroe click here. Only argument I have is in the title. These were lessons “re-learned” (or re-taught) in 2015, so take heed as we digest a bumpy start to 2016. Stay diversified....
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2015 proved a frustrating year for many investors, and a test of their patience. Full-year returns ranged from +6% in foreign small companies to minimally positive US large-cap stock and US bond positions, to downright ugly in emerging markets; volatility was prevalent across nearly all asset classes. Developed foreign markets performed better than domestic markets through the first half of the year, but fell off more steeply in the second half,...
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In our work as investment managers for our clients (and ourselves), our objective is to construct portfolios built on academic research in an effort to provide a high probability of investment success. The result of this evidence-based approach is a tilt toward small and value stocks in the equity portion of our portfolios. These asset classes have demonstrated strong return premiums over long periods of time and in countries around...
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More investment “experts” than not will boldly make predictions for 2016. The subsequent danger is that many investors will make critical decisions based on these crystal ball readings. Some may be right. Most will probably be wrong. The attached article, published by Dimensional Fund Advisors, offers up ten predictions that you can count on…and we actually agree. Enjoy the quick read below and strategize your 2016 investing approach accordingly, all...
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“Two years ago, Foster Group had the unusual privilege of helping some clients create and deliver generous and anonymous scholarships to deserving students. The clients had identified two students who were highly qualified to attend excellent universities, but had family circumstances that would have made it very difficult for them to attend without taking on burdensome student loan debt. Because of the clients’ desire to remain anonymous, Foster Group was involved...
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While not very exciting, one important assessment we make on our clients’ financial situation is whether they are adequately insured. The consequences of being underinsured can be catastrophic and, because of this, reviewing coverage on all your policies is one of the checklist items on our internal ‘standard of care’ document. While we do not sell insurance or claim to be on the leading edge of changes in this arena...
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